Chapter 4: Ten Years Later
The gate loomed like the mouth of some great, patient beast — wide, gilded, yawning open in welcome.
Students funneled through it in neat rows, shoulder-to-shoulder. Some grinned like lottery winners. Others held their breath like they'd walked into church. Security drones flitted overhead, scanning every face, every ID band, every shift in posture.
Rook Vale walked in the middle of them. Not leading, not lagging. Not special.
But his eyes were watching everything.
The Academy stretched out beyond the gate in gleaming arcs and towers, floating bridges linking glass platforms suspended by humming grav-cores. Digital banners fluttered mid-air above the central plaza — welcome messages, power rankings, promotional footage of smiling heroes in slow-motion combat.
A hologram spun overhead: Zodiac 13 — Earth's Greatest Defenders.
Their crests shimmered in a rotating ring. Leo's crest at the top.
Rook didn't look up.
His gaze stayed level. Steady.
He wore the standard cadet uniform — dark gray jacket, red collar, ID cuff glowing faintly at his wrist. His hair was slightly overgrown, intentionally unstyled. Not sloppy, but not polished either. Approachable. Average. Forgettable.
Just the way he wanted it.